A few years ago, a routine inspection being conducted by the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA) found tiny cracks on the wing and fuselage. They deemed the aircraft not safe to fly, so they grounded and it's been grounded ever since.

It has changed locations on the airport a number of times though. For a while, it was parked in the remote stands next to the terminal, so one could get a very close view of it while driving up the ramp to the departure level of the terminal. Here is a picture:

AeroWeanie is correct. There are some other 720s still in flyable service. The 2 owned by Pratt & Whitney will probably be the last of their kind. That awesome photo above showing the 2 720s flying in formation is truly a classic shot. Too bad Bill Harm's website is retired. He would have shown us which 720s are still here with us. Regards.

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." --Ben Franklin

Quoting FlagshipAZ (Reply 4):Too bad Bill Harm's website is retired. He would have shown us which 720s are still here with us

My friends at airlinerlist.com have the exact same info as what Bill would have had. They too also don't show any recent sightings, hence why I asked the question. I did do some research before asking.

N720JR is still at Malta, it was towed around the airport but didn't fly since it arrived there 11 March 2004, is seen last month and I am sure we here it as soon as anything happens as there is an active spotters community on Malta.

A sighting at Beirut in 2005 was a mistake, that must have been P4-NJR instead (which hasn't flown for about 5 years).

Correct, it hasn't been flying since 2001 and is not airworthy. I mixed up the two in my earlier post. The routine inspection I mentioned was for N720JR as P4-NJR was grounded by Lebanese civil aviation authorities years before.

In February 2004, the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA) also grounded all of TMA's Boeing 707 freighters. They have gotten pretty strict.

Quoting AeroWeanie (Reply 3):Pratt & Whitney operates two, N720PW and C-FETB. They are all used as engine test beds.

Quoting FlagshipAZ (Reply 4):The 2 owned by Pratt & Whitney will probably be the last of their kind.

Nice picture AeroWeanie. Ironically, both are ex-MEA birds from Lebanon.

N720PW was sold to Pratt & Whitney Canada by MEA in December 1995 while C-FETB was sold in January 1986.

N720PW I believe was used as the engine testbed for the PW6000. I remember seeing a picture a couple of years ago.

Regards

"Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need." - Khalil Gibran

Quoting FlagshipAZ (Reply 4):The 2 owned by Pratt & Whitney will probably be the last of their kind.

Four engine airframes are just too useful to test engines. I watched one of these two test beds flying around with the original pw6000... looked great! Sigh... Hopefully the pw6000A can redeem the line.

Quoting UK_Dispatcher (Reply 12):The sad point here is the fact that all passenger-carrying B720s are now unceremoniously gone from the skies, so there will never be another opportunity to fly on the type.

I would pay real money for the opportunity to fly on a B720 - sad that it will never happen

The one in question here, N720JR, is a passenger carrying 720 and it is still around.

It last flew in March 2004 from Beirut and it is still flyable, however, it hasn't been flown since because it's been banned from many country's airspace, first by Lebanon after they found 31 defects in it.

However, with some restoration, I am sure this aircraft can be safe to fly and be removed from country's ban lists.

The question is if they will put effort in some restoration work? I doubt it, simply because there isn't the will or incentive to.

It will be interesting to see what happens to this bird. How much longer will it stay in Malta? That's my question.

"Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need." - Khalil Gibran

Quoting BA (Reply 13):The one in question here, N720JR, is a passenger carrying 720 and it is still around

German Airevents.de actually offered a sightseeing flight on it in october 2003 for $250 from Beirut. I wanted to go, booked already to go to Beirut but then the flight was cancelled. We visited the owners and the aircraft though and they told us "if they would have 20-40 people booked, we can fix a date and will fly you" while I believe the aircraft was already grounded then and Airevents couldn't manage to get the appointments fixed, they didn't answer calls etc.